Details, Again

By Keith N Fisher

Last week I mentioned putting details in your story. I don’t think I did justice to the subject, so here’s another.

In the world of drafting and design, instructions must be communicated in a clear and concise manner. If a builder or manufacturer doesn’t understand the intention of the designer, walls can be built in the wrong places, parts might not fit, and thousands of dollars could be wasted.

In an interview with the manager of a steel fabrication firm, he told me about a drafting mistake made in the bolt hole placement on some wide flange beams. It cost thousands of dollars to make, and ship the oversize beams, only to find they didn’t fit. Man-hours were

As a builder, I learned the value of good drawings. There were many times when we had to use a tape measure and extrapolate real world dimensions, because the draftsman didn’t provide clear details. Other times, the plans called for a special feature, Like a dumbwaiter shaft. The designer would draw details giving a clear picture of the intention.



I saw a moveable basketball standard put together wrong, once. The base was sideways at an angle to the backboard. It caught my attention, because I’d just put together exactly the same standard for my daughter’s Christmas present.

As it turned out the person who assembled the other one, didn’t pay attention to the detail that showed hole alignment and once the pieces went together, they couldn’t be pulled apart, which was another feature the details warned about.

As writers we create whole worlds. Our design lies complete, in our head, but if we don’t communicate the nuances, our readers won’t see the world the way we see it.

I’m not advocating flowery descriptions, but if the protagonist can see a second moon in his world, I need to know there is one.

Try to imagine you’re designing a house. Think of what features you want it to have. Then explain it. Put yourself in the builder’s shoes. What kind of information do you need to know in order to build that design? Now examine your novel. Is there some detail you’re leaving out? Is there a valuable piece of information that will help your reader love your story?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to go back and add details to a story because my character changed something in later chapters. Worse, is having, to go back and add details to a character description or a character’s feelings because I left them out.

If you want your reader to see what you see, or know what you know, then tell them. Give them the details. Of course you know more about characters and places in your story than anyone, and some details don’t need to be shared. Dumbledore is not gay, by the way.

Good luck with your writing—see you next week.

Bumpy Landings

A book review by Keith N Fisher

I was thrilled to be asked to be part of the blog tour for the release of, Bumpy landings by Donald J Carey. The author and I have become friends through writer’s conferences and gatherings, so I cheer with him, but I’m thrilled because he’s a successful, male author in a female dominated market.

Those of us testosterone laden writers who write romance and women’s fiction need all the club members we can get, and Don has proven his ability to write a great love story.

The book, Bumpy Landings, will surprise and delight you. Don has done a wonderful job of drawing characters. Beth, the mother character is a perfectly drawn controlling mother. You really love to hate the woman at the same time as you are telling Jordan to “Man Up”. He does, and beautifully.

The story, set in an exotic place with an unusual plot, will make you feel good. Read it, you will like it. Kudo’s to Don for writing a good story.

You can find your copy of the book at the usual places of the publisher. And go to Don’s place for more info about him.

Bumpy Landings

A book review by Keith N Fisher

I was thrilled to be asked to be part of the blog tour for the release of, Bumpy landings by Donald J Carey. The author and I have become friends through writer’s conferences and gatherings, so I cheer with him, but I’m thrilled because he’s a successful, male author in a female dominated market.

Those of us testosterone laden writers who write romance and women’s fiction need all the club members we can get, and Don has proven his ability to write a great love story.

The book, Bumpy Landings, will surprise and delight you. Don has done a wonderful job of drawing characters. Beth, the mother character is a perfectly drawn controlling mother. You really love to hate the woman at the same time as you are telling Jordan to “Man Up”. He does, and beautifully.

The story, set in an exotic place with an unusual plot, will make you feel good. Read it, you will like it. Kudo’s to Don for writing a good story.

You can find your copy of the book at the usual places of the publisher. And go to Don’s place for more info about him.




Yes I Recieved a free copy of the book, But that didn't change my opinion of it. I call 'em as I see 'em.

Details

By Keith N Fisher

How many of you, when describing the scene in the picture, would mention the temperature of the water?

Several years ago, when my daughter was learning to talk, We went camping like we always do, on the fourth of July. It’s a family tradition. Some of us stay in tents others bring campers and trailers. We end up scattered all over the campground, but we get together for breakfast and lunch in whichever place we’ve reserved.

That year, I hauled my trailer up to the top parking lot and rose early to set up my camp kitchen half way down the mountain, in our picnic site. My wife and I were heavily into Dutch oven competition then, and we had a ton of recipes we wanted to try.

I cooked all day and my family ate well. When the truck was packed I started the engine to drive up and get the trailer. A strange man approached my wife and daughter, so I pressed down on the emergency brake pedal and left the truck in neutral on the hill to see what he wanted.

The man asked directions and I explained where he needed to go. Suddenly, as if I were sitting in my truck, I knew what had happened by the popping sound my emergency brake made as it released itself.

The truck rolled backward and I ran around it. I flung the door open and tried to push on the brake from a standing position. Leverage is a funny thing, and I learned there is none, from outside of a vehicle. The truck didn’t stop. It didn’t even slow down as the door knocked me to the ground.

There I lay, straddling the length of the truck, watching the wheels roll toward my head. I remember hearing my daughter scream, “Daddy!” In that second I knew I had to get out from under the truck or it would roll on top of me. I also mused about my daughter calling out to me.

In retrospect, I wonder if my body would’ve stopped the wheels and kept the truck from continuing. The sounds I heard next, made me wish it had. I heard a crash, then another, and another. When it stopped, my truck had hit a parked car and pushed it into the next in line, and so on until there were five wrecked cars. I had contusions, and a nasty bruise that covered my whole arm.

On another occasion we went fishing and camping in a campground. In those days my father towed a camp trailer with a boat trailer behind it. We were packing to leave and Dad began to back the trailer up to the boat to hook on. The macho part of me decided to save time. I picked up the tongue in order to meet Dad at the bottom of the hill.

Gravity took over. The next thing I knew I was hanging onto the tongue, my feet were sliding toward the camp trailer and I still thought I could stop it somehow. In the next brief second I concluded the tongue was about to put a wicked hole into the back of the trailer. My plan was to put me between it and the boat.

Now, something told me if I used my hand it would crush the bones so I used my wrist. I know I know where was my brain, right? There’s still a funny shaped dent that resembles my wrist, in the back of that trailer.

I stood there, cradling my hand like a wounded animal. When I finally looked, there was very little blood, but there was a gash about six inches long. I could gaze into it and see my veins and tendons. It was fascinating, but it hurt too much for me to care.

After a wonderful blessing given by my father, my wife drove our truck and trailer, and me, to the hospital.

I’m not really sure why, but I recalled these incidents during that twilight time just before sleep comes, the other day. Since they happened, I’ve developed logical solutions that would’ve saved me all the trouble. I should’ve just dropped the tongue, and I practiced jumping into my truck to see if I could’ve done it. I know the truck would’ve stopped if I had.

Besides, my walk down memory lane, I’m sharing these images with you to illustrate a point. These events still make me wince, even after all these years and I remember the details. You see, while the correct solution didn’t occur to me at the time, My mind noticed the details. When I saw my front wheels rolling toward me I noticed the tire tread and marveled at how good my new tires looked. I also saw the danger.

The point is our minds notice the details even in split second timing. As writers, we need to remember them too. The stories above wouldn’t be the same without them. The fact of my wrist making a dent in Dad’s trailer adds something to the story. We need to be careful, however, and pay attention to point of view. Don’t have someone else notice the tire tread. It has to come from the point of view character. Also, don’t make him/her notice something they couldn’t possibly see.

Good luck with your writing—see you next week.

The Other Wrecking Crew

By Keith N Fisher

A while back, I read Thomas Frank’s book, The Wrecking Crew. He has a marvelous way of putting politics into perspective and I thrilled to have someone express the facts as I’ve seen them in forty years of political observation and involvement.

I know there’s more than one side to the question, and everyone has their favorite issue, but the book spoke volumes to me. Frank refers to a particular portion of a political party as The Wrecking Crew, because of the way they’ve systematically disassembled our federal government. They raised hate and stratagem to an art form in forcing their beliefs onto the American people.

Recently, I’ve discovered another wrecking crew in our lives. CS Lewis may have hit the mark when his character, Screwtape, tells his nephew that it takes a hundred tempters to turn one good man, but it only takes one to keep a good man down.

Like the political wrecking crew, the other one uses hate, and deception to tear down the beliefs of an individual, and every time a person tries to rise above it all, the wrecking crew steps in with the most effective weapons they have. Things like discouragement, doubt, time restraints and regret.

The wrecking crew brings havoc into every life, but particularly that of a writer. Have you ever noticed just when your prose seems perfect, something comes up and shuts the process down? You begin to wonder if it’s worth the trouble, and why do you bother trying anyway?

In our personal lives, the wrecking crew steps in and convinces us to toss it all away. They debilitate us with thoughts of self-doubt and selfish desires. Faith is left by the wayside.

Just like our federal government, there is much good you can do, or have done, in the lives of those you come into contact with. Yes, there are system abusers, just like the activities we engage in, taking away from the important things of life, but the overall good, most often, outweighs the bad.

If you persist in your righteous endeavors, you will be successful. If you give in to the wrecking crew, they will destroy you. Like CS Lewis’ Screwtape, the wrecking crew uses every stratagem to work a wedge between you and your faith. Don’t let the wrecking crew win.

I read many books written by first time authors. Some have writing mistakes, some are works of art, but all have the capacity to touch a life in one way or another. I probably abuse the example of Harry Potter too much, but can you imagine what the literary world would be like, if JK Rowling had given in to the wrecking crew? She kept the faith and you can too.

Obviously, though, there are other forces at work, and many responsibilities we must fulfill. Don’t neglect your family. Try to find peace in the other activities of life. Many artisans over the years achieved great things at the exclusion of their personal joy. They gave in to the wrecking crew. Look at Vincent Van Gogh, and Ernest Hemmingway. Find the balance in your life and stop listening to the forces who are out to destroy you.

Good luck with your writing—see you next week.

You are Invited

You are invited

to the release

of Tristi Pinkston’s new novel

Dearly Departed

on Friday, January 14th,

at Pioneer Book

858 S. State, Orem

6 – 8 pm

Refreshments, prizes, and fun!




Bring a package of socks to be donated

to the homeless, and you'll be entered in an

additional drawing.




Hope to see you there!

Keeping Up

By Keith N Fisher

I have three blogs half written on my laptop. It has been a catch up, kind of week and I haven't.

I got off work this morning, exhausted, with every intention of finishing one of the blogs to post it, but fell asleep instead. WIth other commitments popping up I didn't get them finished.

So here I sit, on the verge of missing a deadline, trying to post somethng so you won't think I've gone missing.

I've never missed a blog since I began to post here in 2006. There have been a few late ones, but I've never missed. I didn't want to start now. I hope your writing endeavors are coming to fruition. Keep going. You will be successful.

Good luck with your writing---see you next week.

A New Year-A New Tack

By Keith N Fisher

On New Years Eve, 1979-80, I set the four digit point counters on a pool table to match the dates. It was, perhaps, a foolish gesture, but I was in a melancholy mood. I sank the last ball in the game I was playing with myself and sat down to analyze my life.

It seems we, as humans tend to use events like birthdays and the first day of the year to make goals to become better than we are. On that evening, I made plans that eventually changed my life. This year, I will, again be rehashing my values and making course corrections with the end result in mind.

Several years ago, I learned how to navigate a sailboat. The fascination of being part of nature, part of the wind, still clings to my spirit and makes me smile. I found you can’t just point the bow toward the harbor and expect to reach it. Well there are times when the wind is blowing just right, but while under sail, you have to use wind direction and plot a course. This usually means employing a process called tacking.

Simply put, tacking is a zigzag pattern that brings you ever closer to shore. You must fill your sail with the available wind and use it to travel toward a point down the shoreline from your goal. Then turn about, point the bow the other way, catch what wind you can, and tack the other way.

The secret is in keeping exactly the best angle to the wind. Really good sailors can catch the maximum amount of wind while keeping the boat moving in just the right direction. They also learn how to split the sails and adjust them for maximum trim. Yes, there is a science to it, or maybe art and I don’t pretend to be a master, but I’ve seen people who are.

This zigzagging course makes for a longer trip than if you were in a motor boat, but if you’re part of nature, who cares about distance and time.

Many of us in our New Years self-evaluation realize the winds have changed. We sit there with our sails fluttering in the wind or we find we’ve changed course and we’re moving away from the harbor. At those times we must find a new harbor, or turn the bow to catch the wind, take a new tack.

Writing, for me, is a lot like sailing. I know where the harbor is but tacking to get there is hard and most times I find myself with floppy sails, not going anywhere or in a lull with no wind at all. During good times, though, I find the wind at my back. I’m able to set a course directly toward the harbor.

On the boat, having the wind at your back is almost like being wind. The sensation is awesome. Sometimes when I’m writing, and I’m in the zone, words and sentences flow from my fingertips almost as if I’m part of the story. Then, there are the other times when I need to plot a course. I need to work hard to arrive at the harbor. Through it all, writing brings me peace. Not unlike the peace I felt while sailing.

I hope your life tack will bring you where you want to be. May your writing go well, and bring you the joy you seek.

Good luck with your writing—see you next week.